Sweet pepper hybrid 9930417

ABSTRACT

The invention provides seed and plants of pepper hybrid 9930417 and the parent lines thereof. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of pepper hybrid 9930417 and the parent lines thereof, and to methods for producing a pepper plant produced by crossing such plants with themselves or with another pepper plant, such as a plant of another genotype. The invention further relates to seeds and plants produced by such crossing. The invention further relates to parts of such plants, including the fruit and gametes of such plants.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of U.S. provisional applicationSer. No. 61/109,847, filed Oct. 30, 2008, the disclosure of which isspecifically incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, morespecifically, to the development of pepper hybrid 9930417 and of theinbred pepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The goal of vegetable breeding is to combine various desirable traits ina single variety/hybrid. Such desirable traits may include greateryield, resistance to insects or pests, tolerance to heat and drought,better agronomic quality, higher nutritional value, growth rate andfruit properties.

Breeding techniques take advantage of a plant's method of pollination.There are two general methods of pollination: a plant self-pollinates ifpollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower ofthe same plant or plant variety. A plant cross-pollinates if pollencomes to it from a flower of a different plant variety.

Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type over manygenerations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce auniform population of true breeding progeny, a homozygous plant. A crossbetween two such homozygous plants of different genotypes produces auniform population of hybrid plants that are heterozygous for many geneloci. Conversely, a cross of two plants each heterozygous at a number ofloci produces a population of hybrid plants that differ genetically andare not uniform. The resulting non-uniformity makes performanceunpredictable.

The development of uniform varieties requires the development ofhomozygous inbred plants, the crossing of these inbred plants, and theevaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection areexamples of breeding methods that have been used to develop inbredplants from breeding populations. Those breeding methods combine thegenetic backgrounds from two or more plants or various other broad-basedsources into breeding pools from which new lines are developed byselfing and selection of desired phenotypes. The new lines and hybridsproduced therefrom are evaluated to determine which of those havecommercial potential.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention provides a pepper plant of thehybrid designated 9930417 and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179.Also provided are pepper plants having all the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the pepper hybrid 9930417. Parts of thesweet pepper plant of the present invention are also provided, forexample, including pollen, an ovule, scion, a rootstock, a fruit, and acell of the plant.

The invention also concerns the seed of pepper hybrid 9930417 and/orpepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179. The pepper seed of the inventionmay be provided as an essentially homogeneous population of pepper seedof pepper hybrid 9930417 and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179.Essentially homogeneous populations of seed are generally free fromsubstantial numbers of other seed. Therefore, seed of hybrid 9930417and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179 may be defined as formingat least about 97% of the total seed, including at least about 98%, 99%or more of the seed. The seed population may be separately grown toprovide an essentially homogeneous population of pepper plantsdesignated 9930417 and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179.

In another aspect of the invention, a plant of pepper hybrid 9930417and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179 comprising an addedheritable trait is provided. The heritable trait may comprise a geneticlocus that is, for example, a dominant or recessive allele. In oneembodiment of the invention, a plant of pepper hybrid 9930417 and/orpepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179 is defined as comprising a singlelocus conversion. In specific embodiments of the invention, an addedgenetic locus confers one or more traits such as, for example, herbicidetolerance, insect resistance, disease resistance, and modifiedcarbohydrate metabolism. In further embodiments, the trait may beconferred by a naturally occurring gene introduced into the genome ofthe line by backcrossing, a natural or induced mutation, or a transgeneintroduced through genetic transformation techniques into the plant or aprogenitor of any previous generation thereof. When introduced throughtransformation, a genetic locus may comprise one or more genesintegrated at a single chromosomal location.

In another aspect of the invention, a tissue culture of regenerablecells of a pepper plant of hybrid 9930417 and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243and SBY99-1179 is provided. The tissue culture will preferably becapable of regenerating pepper plants capable of expressing all of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of the starting plantfrom which tissue is obtained, and of regenerating plants havingsubstantially the same genotype as the starting plant. Examples of someof the physiological and morphological characteristics of the hybrid9930417 and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179 include thosetraits set forth in the tables herein. The regenerable cells in suchtissue cultures may be derived, for example, from embryos, meristems,cotyledons, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, flower,seed and stalks. Still further, the present invention provides pepperplants regenerated from a tissue culture of the invention, the plantshaving all the physiological and morphological characteristics of hybrid9930417 and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179.

In yet another aspect of the invention, processes are provided forproducing pepper seeds, plants and fruit, which processes generallycomprise crossing a first parent pepper plant with a second parentpepper plant, wherein at least one of the first or second parent pepperplants is a plant of pepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179. Theseprocesses may be further exemplified as processes for preparing hybridpepper seed or plants, wherein a first pepper plant is crossed with asecond pepper plant of a different, distinct genotype to provide ahybrid that has, as one of its parents, a plant of pepper lineSBR99-1243 or pepper line SBY99-1179. In these processes, crossing willresult in the production of seed. The seed production occurs regardlessof whether the seed is collected or not.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first step in “crossing”comprises planting seeds of a first and second parent pepper plant,often in proximity so that pollination will occur for example, mediatedby insect vectors. Alternatively, pollen can be transferred manually.Where the plant is self-pollinated, pollination may occur without theneed for direct human intervention other than plant cultivation.

A second step may comprise cultivating or growing the seeds of first andsecond parent pepper plants into plants that bear flowers. A third stepmay comprise preventing self-pollination of the plants, such as byemasculating the flowers (i.e., killing or removing the pollen).Self-incompatibility systems may also be used in some hybrid crops forthe same purpose. Self-incompatible plants still shed viable pollen andcan pollinate plants of other varieties but are incapable of pollinatingthemselves or other plants of the same genotype.

A fourth step for a hybrid cross may comprise cross-pollination betweenthe first and second parent pepper plants. Yet another step comprisesharvesting the seeds from at least one of the parent pepper plants. Theharvested seed can then be grown to produce a pepper plant.

The present invention also provides the pepper seeds and plants producedby a process that comprises crossing a first parent pepper plant with asecond parent pepper plant, wherein at least one of the first or secondparent pepper plants is a plant of pepper hybrid 9930417 and/or pepperlines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179. In one embodiment of the invention,pepper seed and plants produced by the process are first generation (F₁)hybrid pepper seed and plants produced by crossing a plant in accordancewith the invention with another, distinct plant. The present inventionfurther contemplates plant parts of such an F₁ hybrid pepper plant, andmethods of use thereof. Therefore, certain exemplary embodiments of theinvention provide an F₁ hybrid pepper plant and seed thereof.

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method ofproducing a plant derived from hybrid 9930417 and/or pepper linesSBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179, the method comprising the steps of: (a)preparing a progeny plant derived from hybrid 9930417 and/or pepperlines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179, wherein said preparing comprisescrossing a plant of the hybrid 9930417, pepper line SBR99-1243, orpepper line SBY99-1179 with a second plant; and (b) crossing the progenyplant with itself or a second plant to produce a seed of a progeny plantof a subsequent generation. In further embodiments, the method mayadditionally comprise: (c) growing a progeny plant of a subsequentgeneration from said seed of a progeny plant of a subsequent generationand crossing the progeny plant of a subsequent generation with itself ora second plant; and repeating the steps for an additional 3-10generations to produce a plant derived from hybrid 9930417, pepper lineSBR99-1243, or pepper line SBY99-1179. The plant derived from hybrid9930417 and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179 may be an inbredline, and the aforementioned repeated crossing steps may be defined ascomprising sufficient inbreeding to produce the inbred line. In themethod, it may be desirable to select particular plants resulting fromstep (c) for continued crossing according to steps (b) and (c). Byselecting plants having one or more desirable traits, a plant derivedfrom hybrid 9930417 and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179 isobtained which possesses some of the desirable traits of the startingplant as well as potentially other selected traits.

In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method ofproducing peppers comprising: (a) obtaining a plant of pepper hybrid9930417 and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179, wherein the planthas been cultivated to maturity, and (b) collecting peppers from theplant.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, the genetic complement ofpepper hybrid 9930417 and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179 isprovided. The phrase “genetic complement” is used to refer to theaggregate of nucleotide sequences, the expression of which sequencesdefines the phenotype of, in the present case, a pepper plant, or a cellor tissue of that plant. A genetic complement thus represents thegenetic makeup of a cell, tissue or plant, and a hybrid geneticcomplement represents the genetic make up of a hybrid cell, tissue orplant. The invention thus provides pepper plant cells that have agenetic complement in accordance with the pepper plant cells disclosedherein, and plants, seeds and plants containing such cells.

Plant genetic complements may be assessed by genetic marker profiles,and by the expression of phenotypic traits that are characteristic ofthe expression of the genetic complement, e.g., isozyme typing profiles.It is understood that hybrid 9930417 and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243 andSBY99-1179 could be identified by any of the many well known techniquessuch as, for example, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms (SSLPs)(Williams et al., 1990), Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs),DNA Amplification Fingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized AmplifiedRegions (SCARs), Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR),Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858,specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), andSingle Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., 1998).

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides hybridgenetic complements, as represented by pepper plant cells, tissues,plants, and seeds, formed by the combination of a haploid geneticcomplement of a pepper plant of the invention with a haploid geneticcomplement of a second pepper plant, preferably, another, distinctpepper plant. In another aspect, the present invention provides a pepperplant regenerated from a tissue culture that comprises a hybrid geneticcomplement of this invention.

In still yet another aspect, the invention provides a plant thatexhibits a combination of traits comprising a sturdy, medium-sized,anthocyaninless plant, with excellent cover; a plant that produces aheavy set of fruit that are uniform, smooth and of similar size, andwhich mature from green to red, and often weighs between 280 and 300grams, and appears resistant or tolerant to races 1, 2 and 3 ofBacterial Leaf Spot (Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria),Tobamovirus (P0) and Phytopthora capsici. In certain embodiments, thecombination of traits may be defined as controlled by genetic means forthe expression of the combination of traits found in pepper hybrid9930417.

In still yet another aspect, the invention provides a method ofdetermining the genotype of a plant of pepper hybrid 9930417 and/orpepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179 comprising detecting in thegenome of the plant at least a first polymorphism. The method may, incertain embodiments, comprise detecting a plurality of polymorphisms inthe genome of the plant. The method may further comprise storing theresults of the step of detecting the plurality of polymorphisms on acomputer readable medium. The invention further provides a computerreadable medium produced by such a method.

Any embodiment discussed herein with respect to one aspect of theinvention applies to other aspects of the invention as well, unlessspecifically noted.

The term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the standarddeviation of the mean for the device or method being employed todetermine the value. The use of the term “or” in the claims is used tomean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives onlyor the alternatives are mutually exclusive, although the disclosuresupports a definition that refers to only alternatives and to “and/or.”When used in conjunction with the word “comprising” or other openlanguage in the claims, the words “a” and “an” denote “one or more,”unless specifically noted. The terms “comprise,” “have” and “include”are open-ended linking verbs. Any forms or tenses of one or more ofthese verbs, such as “comprises,” “comprising,” “has,” “having,”“includes” and “including,” are also open-ended. For example, any methodthat “comprises,” “has” or “includes” one or more steps is not limitedto possessing only those one or more steps and also covers otherunlisted steps. Similarly, any plant that “comprises,” “has” or“includes” one or more traits is not limited to possessing only thoseone or more traits and covers other unlisted traits.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description. It should beunderstood, however, that the detailed description and any specificexamples provided, while indicating specific embodiments of theinvention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changesand modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from this detaileddescription.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides methods and compositions relating to plants,seeds and derivatives of sweet pepper hybrid 9930417. The invention alsoprovides parent lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179.

In one embodiment, a plant of the invention comprises one or moreimproved traits, selected from a sturdy, medium-sized, anthocyaninlessplant with excellent cover; a plant that produces a heavy set of fruitthat are uniform, smooth and of similar size, and which mature fromgreen to red, and often weigh between 200 and 250 grams, and appearsresistant or tolerant to races 1, 2 and 3 of Bacterial Leaf Spot(Xanthomonas campestris pv vesicatoria), Tobamovirus (P0), andPhytophtora capsici. The development of hybrid 9930417 and its parentlines can be summarized as follows.

A. Origin and Breeding History of Pepper Hybrid 9930417

The parents of sweet pepper hybrid 9930417 are pepper line SBR99-1243and pepper line SBY99-1179.

Line SBR99-1243 was developed by pedigree selection from adouble-haploid event from a cross between inbred lines SBR27-136 andE8646.98LB 3043-1. The inbred SBR99-1243 develops an anthocyaninless,semi-spreading, medium-sized plant that produces medium green fruit thatmature to red. The large smooth fruit possess a rather deep profile(length:width approximately 1.1).

The female parent, SBR 27-136, developed into a medium-sized plant thatproduced a good set of early maturing, medium to large fruit. Fruit weregreen maturing to red, rather ribby with a good side wall. The line isresistant to the Tobacco mosaic virus pathotype P0 [TMV(P0)] via the L1gene. The male parent, E8646.98LB 3043-1, was a heavy-setting line thatproduced a large, square, anthocyaninless fruit that was segregating forred and yellow fruit color. The line was resistant to races 1, 2, and 3Bacterial leaf spot [(Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria) Bs2 gene].

SBR99-1243 differs from SBR 27-136 because it is anthocyaninless andsusceptible to the TMV(P0) whereas SBR 27-136 is not anthocyaninless andis resistant to TMV(P0). SBR99-1243 differs from E8646.98LB 3043-1because it is fixed for red fruit color and is susceptible to races 1,2, and 3 BLS whereas E8646.98LB 3043-1 was segregating for mature fruitcolor (red/yellow) and was resistant to races 1, 2, and 3 BLS.

The crossing and selections were made as follows:

-   Year 1: Planted and crossed the inbred lines SBR 27-136 and    E8646.98LB 3043-1 to produce the hybrid “99BK”.-   Year 1: The hybrid 99BK was sent to a tissue culture facility.    Anthers were cultured and double haploid plants were produced (DH0).    The double haploid plants were allowed to self pollinate and produce    seed.-   Year 2: Planted the DH1 line 99DH BK-09-M as stake 02LB 01942. The    line was tested for resistance to the Tobacco mosaic virus pathotype    P₀ (L1 gene) and found to be susceptible. The line was tested for    resistance to the Tomato spotted wilt virus (Tswv gene) and found it    to be susceptible. The line was tested for resistance to the    Tobamovirus (L4 gene) and found it to be susceptible. The line was    tested for race 1, 2, and 3 BLS (Bs2 gene) resistance and found it    to be susceptible. The line appeared uniform and stable. Entire plot    harvested and bulked.-   Year 3: Planted DH2 seed of 02LB 01942-M inbred line as stake    #02LB 08150. The line produced very small, leafy plants which    produced a heavy set of medium green fruit that matured red. The    line appeared uniform and stable.-   Year 3: Planted DH2 seed of 02LB 01942-M inbred line as stake    #02LB 12977. The line produced medium large, branchy plants which    provided good cover. The plants produced a rather early maturing    fruit of good size and shape. The line appeared uniform and stable.-   Year 4: Planted DH2 seed of 02LB 01942-M inbred line as stake    #03LB 09150. The line produced medium large plants with small leaves    that produced square-shaped fruit with a medium green color. The    line appeared uniform and stable. The source 02LB 01942-M was    submitted as parent “SBR99-1243”.

SBR99-1243 has been observed as uniform and stable over two generationsand is within commercially acceptable limits. As is true with othersweet pepper inbreds, a small percentage of variants can occur withincommercially acceptable limits for almost any characteristic during thecourse of repeated multiplication.

A description of the physiological and morphological characteristics ofpepper line SBR99-1243 is presented in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of LineSBR99-1243 and a Selected Variety Characteristic SBR99-1243 Early CalWonder 1 Species C. annuum C. annuum 2 Maturity in region of mostadaptability Days from transplanting until mature  66  67 green stageDays from transplanting until mature  87  85 red or yellow stage Daysfrom direct seeding until mature 106 104 green stage Days from directseeding until mature 127 122 red or yellow stage 3 Plant HabitSemi-spreading Compact Attitude Semi-erect Erect Plant height 58.4 cm63.5 cm Plant width 43.2 cm 55.9 cm Length of stem from cotyledon to15.0 cm 17.8 cm first flower Length of the third internode (from 86.4 cm69.9 cm soil surface) Basal branches Few (2-3) Few (2-3) Branchflexibility Rigid (Yolo Rigid (Yolo Wonder L) Wonder L) Stem strength(breakage resistance) Intermediate Intermediate 4 Leaf Leaf width 44.5mm 42.0 mm Leaf length 88.9 mm 80.0 mm Petiole length 57.7 mm 30.0 mmMature leaf shape Elliptic Elliptic Color Medium Green Medium GreenColor (RHS color chart value) 139A 143A Leaf and stem pubescence Absent(Yolo Absent (Yolo Wonder L) Wonder L) Margin undulation Absent AbsentBlistering Medium Medium 5 Flowers Number of flowers per leaf axil  1  1Calyx (calyx lobes)  6  6 Petals  6  7 Diameter 25.4 mm 25.0 mm Corollacolor White White Corolla throat markings Yellow (tan) Yellow (tan)Anther color Yellow Purple Style length Same as stamen Less than stamenSelf-incompatibility Absent Absent 6 Fruit Group Bell (Yolo Bell (YoloWonder L) Wonder L) Immature fruit color Medium Green (Long Medium Green(Long Thin Cayenne) Thin Cayenne) Immature fruit color (RHS Color 144A137A Chart value) Mature fruit color Red (Yolo Wonder L) Red (YoloWonder L) Mature fruit color (RHS Color Chart  46B  46A Value) PungencySweet (Yolo Sweet (Yolo Wonder L) Wonder L) Flavor Mild Pepper FlavorModerate Pepper Flavor Fruit glossiness Shiny Moderate Surfacesmoothness Smooth (Yolo Smooth (Yolo Wonder L) Wonder L) Fruit positionPendent (Jalapeno) Pendent (Jalapeno) Calyx shape Saucer-shaped (Flat,Saucer-shaped (Flat, non-enveloping) non-enveloping) Calyx diameter 38.1mm 32.0 mm Fruit length 95.3 mm 80.0 mm Fruit diameter at calyxattachment 76.2 mm 70.0 mm Fruit diameter at mid-point 88.9 mm 80.0 mmFlesh thickness at mid-point  6.4 mm  6.0 mm Average number of fruitsper plant   15.0   10.0 % Large fruits Weight range: 175 Weight Range:130 to 240 g (17.0%) to 200 g (50.0%) % Medium fruits Weight range: 130Weight range: 90 to 160 g (50.0%) to 120 g (30.0%) % Small fruits Weightrange: 80 Weight range: 50 to 120 g (33.0%) to 75 g (20.0%) Averagefruit weight 139.7 gm 100.0 gm Base shape Cupped (Yolo Cupped (YoloWonder L) Wonder L) Apex shape Blunt (Yolo Blunt (Yolo Wonder L) WonderL) Shape Bell (Yolo Bell (Yolo Wonder L) Wonder L) Longitudinal sectionSquare Square Cross section at level of placenta QuadrangularQuadrangular Fruit set Concentrated Concentrated Interloculary groovesMedium Medium Fruits with one locule 0.0% 0.0% Fruits with two locules0.0% 0.0% Fruits with three locules 43.0%  40.0%  Fruits with fourlocolues 53.0%  60.0%  Fruits with five or more locules 4.0% 0.0%Average number of locules    3.6    3.6 Pedicel length 44.5 mm 20.0 mmPedical thickness  6.4 mm  6.0 mm Pedicel shape Curved Curved Pedicelcavity Absent Absent 7 Seed Cavity length 76.2 mm 43.0 mm Cavitydiameter 69.9 mm 52.0 mm Placenta length 38.1 mm 22.0 mm Number of seedsper fruit 206 100 Weight per 1000 seeds 8.3 gm 7.5 gm Seed color YellowYellow 8 Anthocyanin Seeding hypocotyl Absent Weak Stem Absent Weak NodeWeak Moderate Leaf Absent Absent Pedical Absent Absent Calyx AbsentAbsent Fruit Absent Moderate *These are typical values. Values may varydue to environment. Other values that are substantially equivalent arealso within the scope of the invention.

SBY99-1179 was developed by pedigree selection from Seminis hybrid SVR7273802. This hybrid resulted from the cross between female “Y79?7488Y”and male “SBY29-469”.

SBY99-1179 develops an anthocyaninless, small to medium-sized plant thatprovides heavy cover. The plant produces a firm, weak green-maturing toyellow fruit with good shape and a nice shoulder. Tests indicate theline is fixed for resistance to the Tobacco etch virus (TEV) (pvr2-2gene), fixed for Tobacco mosaic virus (pathotype P0) (TMV) resistance(L1 gene), fixed for resistance to races 1, 2, and 3 bacterial spot(BLS)[(Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria) Bs2 gene], and resistantor tolerant to Phytopthora capsici.

Parent “Y79?7488Y” was a blocky, yellow bell segregating for theanthocyaninless trait, fixed for resistance to TEV, fixed for resistanceto TMV, and fixed for resistance to races 1, 2, and 3 BLS. Parent“SBY29-469” was an anthocyaninless, yellow, blocky bell fixed for TEVresistance, fixed for TMV resistance, and resistant or tolerant toPhytopthora capsici. Neither parent was marketed directly as openpollinated lines. SBY99-1179 differs from Y79?7488Y because it is fixedfor the anthocyaninless trait and is resistant or tolerant to P.capsici. SBY99-1179 differs from SBY29-469 because it is resistant toTMV and is resistant to races 1, 2, and 3 BLS.

The crossing and selections were made as follows:

-   Year 1: Planted parents “Y79?7488Y” as inbred #LBGH 3251 and    “SBY29-469” as inbred # LBGH 3294. The F₁ Hybrid SVR 7273802 was    made.-   Year 2: Sowed F₁ hybrid SVR 7273802 as stake #98LB 5151.The hybrid    was selfed and massed.-   Year 2: Planted F₂ inbred line 98LB 5151-M as stake #98LB YBS 388.    Individual plants were selected.-   Year 3: Planted F₃ inbred line 95LB YBS 388-01 as stake #99LB 1181.    The line was segregating for low level resistance to P. capsici.    Individual plants were selected.-   Year 3: Planted F₄ inbred line 99LB 1181-01 as stake #99LB 7173. The    line was fixed for TMV resistance, fixed for TEV resistance, and    fixed for resistance to races 1, 2, and 3 BLS. Notes also indicate    the line was segregating to P. capsici. Individual plants were    selected.-   Year 4: Planted F₅ inbred line 99LB 7173-01 as stake #00LB 2171. The    line was segregating for low level resistance to P. capsici.    Individual plants were selected.-   Year 4: Submitted F₆ inbred line 00LB 2171-01 to pathology to screen    for resistance to P. capsici as pathology test line WM 85395.    Resistant survivors were saved.-   Year 5: Planted F₇ inbred line WM 85395-51 as stake #01LB 7797.    Small plants with firm fruit and weak fruit color were produced.    Individual plants were selected.-   Year 6: Planted F₈ inbred line 01LB 7797-04 as stake #02LB 04011.    Anthocyaninless, yellow-fruited line with a small to medium plant    that provided heavy cover were produced. Further, line produced firm    fruit, with good shape and a nice shoulder, and weak green fruit    color. Tests indicate the line was fixed for resistance to the    Tobacco etch virus (pvr2-2 gene), fixed for TMV resistance, fixed    for resistance to races 1, 2, and 3 BLS and resistant to P. capsici.    Plants were stable and uniform. The line was bulked.-   Year 6: The inbred line, 02LB 004011-M, was designated SBY99-1179.

SBY99-1179 has been observed as uniform and stable over two generations,and it is within commercially acceptable limits. As is true with othersweet pepper inbreds, a small percentage of variants can occur withincommercially acceptable limits for almost any characteristic during thecourse of repeated multiplication. However, no known variants wereobserved during the 26 times that SBY99-1179 was observed in fieldtrials.

A description of the physiological and morphological characteristics ofpepper line SBY99-1179 is presented in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of LineSBY99-1179 and a Selected Variety CHARACTERISTIC SBY99-1179 Early CalWonder 1 Species C. annuum C. annuum 2 Maturity in region of mostadaptability Days from transplanting until  71  67 mature green stage)Days from transplanting until  92  85 mature red or yellow stage) Daysfrom direct seeding until 108 104 mature green stage) Days from directseeding until 129 122 mature red or yellow stage) 3 Plant Habit compactcompact Attitude upright/erect (De upright/erect (De Cayenne, Doux trésCayenne, Doux trés long long des Landes, des Landes, Piquant Piquantd'Algerie) d'Algerie) Plant height 36.9 cm 40.9 cm Plant width 41.1 cm47.1 cm Length of stem from cotyledon to 11.2 cm 10.7 cm first flowerLength of the third internode (from 60.7 mm 54.0 mm soil surface) Lengthof stem medium (Belsir, Lamuyo) Shortened internode (in upper absent(California part) wonder, De Cayenne) Length of internode (on primaryshort (Bandero, side shoots) Blondy, Danubia, Tenor) Stem: Hairiness ofnodes absent or very weak (Arlequin) Height short (Albaregia) Basalbranches none few (2-3) Branch flexibility rigid (Yolo Wonder) rigid(Yolo Wonder) Stem strength (breakage strong intermediate resistance) 4Leaf Length of blade long (Cupido, Dolmy, Encore, Mazurka, Monte) Widthof blade medium (Albaregia, Balaton, Danubia, Marconi, Merit) Leaf width56.3 mm 60.0 mm Leaf length 100.3 mm  113.3 mm  Petiole length 34.3 mm46.0 mm Color dark green light green Color (RHS Color Chart value) 137A147A Intensity of green color dark (Dolmy, Tinto) Mature leaf shapeovate (Balico, Sonar) ovate (Balico, Sonar) Leaf and stem pubescenceabsent absent Undulation of margin absent (De Cayenne) absent (DeCayenne) Blistering weak (Pusztagold) weak (Pusztagold) Profile in crosssection flat (De Cayenne) Glossiness weak (De Cayenne, Doux trés longdes Landes) Peduncle: Attitude erect (Fehér, Red Chilli) 5 Flower Numberof flowers per leaf axil  1  1 Number of calyx lobes  6  6 Number ofpetals  6  6 Diameter 22.4 mm 25.1 mm Corolla color white white Corollathroat markings yellow yellow Anther color yellow purple Style Lengthless than stamen same as stamen Self-incompatibility absent absent 6Fruit Group Bell (Yolo Wonder L.) Bell (Yolo Wonder L.) Color beforematurity green (California wonder, Lamuyo) Intensity of color (beforematurity) medium Immature fruit color medium green medium green Immaturefruit color (RHS Color green 143A green 137A Chart value)Attitude/position drooping/pendent (De drooping/pendent (De Cayenne,Lamuyo) Cayenne, Lamuyo) Length medium (Fehér, Lamuyo) Diameter medium(Doux italien, Corno di toro) Ratio length/diameter small (Bucano,Topgirl) Calyx diameter 29.0 mm 32.0 mm Fruit length 76.5 mm 80.0 mmFruit diameter at calyx attachment 69.7 mm 70.0 mm Fruit diameter atmid-point 77.3 mm 80.0 mm Flesh thickness at mid-point  6.4 mm  6.0 mmAverage number of fruits per plant   12.7   10.0 % large fruits Weightrange: 200 Weight range: 130 to 300 g (7.2%) to 200 g (50.0%) % mediumfruits Weight range: 100 Weight range: 90 to 195 g (19.7%) to 120 g(30.0%) % small fruits Weight range: 5 Weight range: 50 to 95 g (73.1%)to 75 g (20.0%) Average fruit weight 96.3 gm 100.0 gm Shape inlongitudinal section square (Delphin, square (Delphin, Yolo Wonder) YoloWonder) Shape in cross section (at level of quadrangular quadrangularplacenta) Sinuation of pericarp at basal part very weak (Delphin,Kalocsai V-2, Milord) Sinuation of pericarp excluding weak (Clovis,Sonar) basal part Texture of surface smooth or very slightly smooth orvery slightly wrinkled (Milord) wrinkled (Milord) Color (at maturity)yellow (Golden calwonder, Heldor) Intensity of color (at maturity)medium Mature fruit color orange-yellow red Mature fruit color (RHSColor yellow orange 17C 46A Chart value) Glossiness medium/moderatemedium/moderate (Carré doux extra hâtif, (Carré doux extra hâtif,Lamuyo, Sonar) Lamuyo, Sonar) Stalk cavity present (Bingor, Lamuyo)Depth of stalk cavity very shallow (Flush, Kaméleon, Niagara) Pedicellength 33.5 mm 20.0 mm Pedicel thickness  9.7 mm  6.0 mm Pedicel shapecurved curved Pedicel cavity present absent Depth of pedicel cavity  4.0mm Stalk: Length medium (Fehér, Sonar) Stalk: Thickness medium (Douxitalien, Surpas) Base shape cupped cupped Shape of apex moderatelydepressed very depressed (Kerala, (Quadrate a'Asti rosso) Monte, Osir)Shape Bell (Yolo Wonder L.) Bell (Yolo Wonder L.) Fruit set concentratedscattered Depth of interloculary grooves medium (Clovis, medium (Clovis,Lamuyo, Marconi) Lamuyo, Marconi) Number of locules predominantly fourand more (Palio, PAZ szentesi) Fruits with one locule 0.0% 0.0% Fruitswith two locules 6.0% 0.0% Fruits with three locules 21.2%  40.0% Fruits with four locules 69.7%  60.0%  Fruits with five or more locules3.1% 0.0% Average number of locules    3.69    3.6 Thickness of fleshthick (Andevalo, Bingor, Daniel, Topgirl) Calyx: Aspectnon-enveloping/saucer- non-enveloping/saucer- shaped (Lamuyo, Sonar)shaped (Lamuyo, Sonar) Pungency sweet sweet Capsaicin in placenta absent(Sonar) Flavor mild pepper flavor moderate pepper flavor Glossinessmoderate shiny 7 Seed Seed cavity length 58.9 mm 43.0 mm Seed cavitydiameter 63.0 mm 52.0 mm Placenta length 19.3 mm 22.0 mm Number of seedsper fruit 132 100 Grams per 1000 seeds  7.8 gm  7.5 gm Color yellowyellow 8 Plant Seedling: Anthocyanin coloration absent (Albaregia,moderate of hypocotyl Albena) Anthocyanin coloration of stem absentabsent Anthocyanin coloration of nodes absent (Albaregia) weak Intensityof anthocyanin coloration very weak of nodes Anthocyanin coloration ofleaf absent absent Anthocyanin coloration of pedicel absent absentAnthocyanin coloration of calyx absent absent Anthocyanin coloration inanther absent (Danza) Anthocyanin coloration absent (Lamuyo) absent(Lamuyo) Beginning of flowering (1st flower medium (Lamuyo, on 2ndflowering node) Latino) Time of maturity medium (Lamuyo, Latino, Sonar)*These are typical values. Values may vary due to environment. Othervalues that are substantially equivalent are also within the scope ofthe invention.

B. Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Pepper Hybrid9930417

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a plant having the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of pepper hybrid 9930417. A description of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of pepper hybrid 9930417is presented in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Hybrid9930417 and a Selected Variety CHARACTERISTIC 9930417 Early Cal Wonder 1Species C. annuum C. annuum 2 Maturity in region of most adaptabilityDays from transplanting until  71  67 mature green stage Days fromtransplanting until  88  85 mature red or yellow stage Days from directseeding until 108 104 mature green stage Days from direct seeding until125 122 mature red or yellow stage 3 Plant Habit compact compactAttitude upright/erect upright/erect (De Cayenne, Doux (De Cayenne, Douxtrès très long des Landes, long des Landes, Piquant d'Algérie) Piquantd'Algérie) Plant height 30.8 cm 40.9 cm Plant width 37.7 cm 47.1 cmLength of stem from cotyledon to 12.8 cm 10.7 cm first flower Length ofthe third internode (from 89.5 mm 54.0 mm soil surface) Length of stemshort (Delphin, Trophy) Shortened internode (in upper absent part)(California wonder, De Cayenne) Length of internode (on primary shortside shoots) (Bandero, Blondy, Danubia, Tenor) Stem: Hairiness of nodesabsent or very weak (Arlequin) Height medium (HRF) Basal branches nonefew (2-3) Branch flexibility rigid (Yolo Wonder) rigid (Yolo Wonder)Stem strength (breakage intermediate intermediate resistance) 4 LeafLength of blade long (Cupido, Dolmy, Encore, Mazurka, Monte) Width ofblade broad (California wonder, Golden calwonder, Seifor, Solario) Leafwidth 58.7 mm 60.0 mm Leaf length 101.7 mm  113.3 mm  Petiole length55.6 mm 46.0 mm Color dark green light green Color (RHS Color Chartvalue) green 137B 147A Intensity of green color dark (Dolmy, Tinto)Mature leaf shape ovate ovate (Balico, Sonar) (Balico, Sonar) Leaf andstem pubescence absent absent Undulation of margin very weak absentBlistering medium weak (Merit) (Pusztagold) Profile in cross sectionmoderately concave (Doux italien, Favolor) Glossiness medium (Alby,Eolo) Peduncle: Attitude erect (Fehér, Red Chili) 5 Flower Number offlowers per leaf axil  1  1 Number of calyx lobes  6  6 Number of petals 6  6 Diameter 26.1 mm 25.1 mm Corolla color white white Corolla throatmarkings yellow yellow Anther color yellow purple Style Length less thanstamen same as stamen Self-incompatibility absent absent 6 Fruit GroupBell (Yolo Wonder L.) Bell (Yolo Wonder L.) Color before maturity green(California wonder, Lamuyo) Intensity of color (before maturity) darkImmature fruit color dark green medium green Immature fruit color (RHSColor green 144A green 137A Chart value) Attitude/positiondrooping/pendent drooping/pendent (De Cayenne, Lamuyo) (De Cayenne,Lamuyo) Length medium (Fehér, Lamuyo) Diameter broad (Clovis, Lamuyo)Ratio length/diameter very small (Liebesapfel, PAZ szentesi, Rotopa)Calyx diameter 31.3 mm 32.0 mm Fruit length   83 mm 80.0 mm Fruitdiameter at calyx attachment 75.3 mm 70.0 mm Fruit diameter at mid-point76.5 mm 80.0 mm Flesh thickness at mid-point  7.0 mm  6.0 mm Averagenumber of fruits per plant   11.1   10.0 % large fruits 20.7% (weightrange: 50.0% (weight range: 140 g to 200 g) 130 g to 200 g) % mediumfruits 33.40% (weight range: 30.0% (weight range: 80 g to 135 g) 90 g to120 g) % small fruits 45.9% (weight range: 20.0% (weight range: 5 g to75 g) 50 g to 75 g) Average fruit weight 97.9 gm  100.0 gm Shape inlongitudinal section square square (Delphin, (Delphin, Yolo Wonder) YoloWonder) Shape in cross section (at level of quadrangular quadrangularplacenta) Sinuation of pericarp at basal part weak (Donat) Sinuation ofpericarp excluding weak (Clovis, Sonar) basal part Texture of surfacesmooth or very slightly smooth or very slightly wrinkled wrinkled(Milord) (Milord) Color (at maturity) red (Fehér, Lamuyo) Intensity ofcolor (at maturity) dark Mature fruit color red red Mature fruit color(RHS Color red 46A 46A Chart value) Glossiness medium/moderatemedium/moderate (Carré doux extra hâtif, (Carré doux extra hâtif,Lamuyo, Sonar) Lamuyo, Sonar) Stalk cavity present (Bingor, Lamuyo)Depth of stalk cavity very shallow (Flush, Kaméleon, Niagara) Pedicellength 28.8 mm 20.0 mm Pedicel thickness  9.9 mm  6.0 mm Pedicel shapecurved curved Pedicel cavity present absent Depth of pedicel cavity  1.0mm Stalk: Length medium (Fehér, Sonar) Stalk: Thickness thick (Lamuyo,Trophy Palio) Base shape cupped cupped Shape of apex very depressed verydepressed (Kerala, Monte, Osir) (Kerala, Monte, Osir) Shape Bell (YoloWonder L.) Bell (Yolo Wonder L.) Fruit set concentrated scattered Depthof interloculary grooves medium medium (Clovis, Lamuyo, (Clovis, Lamuyo,Marconi) Marconi) Number of locules predominantly four and more (Palio,PAZ szentesi) Fruits with one locule   0%   0% Fruits with two locules 3.4%   0% Fruits with three locules 33.4% 40.0% Fruits with fourlocules 63.2% 60.0% Fruits with five or more locules   0%   0% Averagenumber of locules    3.60   3.6 Calyx: Aspectnon-enveloping/saucer-shaped non-enveloping/saucer-shaped (Lamuyo,Sonar) (Lamuyo, Sonar) Pungency sweet sweet Capsaicin in placenta absent(Sonar) Flavor strong pepper flavor moderate pepper flavor Glossinessmoderate shiny 7 Seed Seed cavity length 65.2 mm 43.0 mm Seed cavitydiameter 61.3 mm 52.0 mm Placenta length 24.4 mm 22.0 mm Number of seedsper fruit 288 100 Grams per 1000 seeds 5.0 gm 7.5 gm Color yellow yellow8 Plant Seedling: Anthocyanin coloration absent moderate of hypocotyl(Albaregia, Albena) Anthocyanin coloration of stem absent absentAnthocyanin coloration of nodes weak weak Stem: Intensity of anthocyaninvery weak coloration of nodes Anthocyanin coloration of leaf absentabsent Anthocyanin coloration of pedicel absent absent Anthocyanincoloration of calyx absent absent Flower: Anthocyanin coloration inabsent (Danza) anther Fruit: Anthocyanin coloration absent (Lamuyo)Beginning of flowering (1st flower early (Carré doux extra on 2ndflowering node) hâtif, Cupido, Fehér, Flaviano, Lito, Trophy) Time ofmaturity early (Fehér, Lady Bell, Topgirl) *These are typical values.Values may vary due to environment. Other values that are substantiallyequivalent are also within the scope of the invention.

The parents of hybrid 9930417, lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179, beingsubstantially homozygous, can be reproduced by planting seeds of thelines, growing the resulting pepper plants under self-pollinating orsib-pollinating conditions and harvesting the resulting seeds usingtechniques familiar to one of skill in the art.

C. Breeding Pepper Plants

One aspect of the current invention concerns methods for crossing thesweet pepper hybrid 9930417 and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243 andSBY99-1179, with itself or a second plant and the seeds and plantsproduced by such methods. These methods can be used for propagation ofpepper hybrid 9930417 and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179, orcan be used to produce hybrid pepper seeds and the plants growntherefrom. Hybrid seeds are produced by crossing hybrid 9930417 and/orpepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179 with a plant of a differentgenotype as well as by selfing a hybrid.

The development of new varieties using one or more starting varieties iswell known in the art. In accordance with the invention, novel varietiesmay be created by crossing hybrid 9930417 and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243and SBY99-1179, followed by multiple generations of breeding accordingto such well known methods. New varieties may be created by crossingwith any second plant. In selecting such a second plant to cross for thepurpose of developing novel lines, it may be desired to choose thoseplants which either themselves exhibit one or more selected desirablecharacteristics or which exhibit the desired characteristic(s) when inhybrid combination. Once initial crosses have been made, inbreeding andselection take place to produce new varieties. For development of auniform line, often five or more generations of selfing and selectionare involved.

Uniform lines of new varieties may also be developed by way ofdouble-haploids. This technique allows the creation of true breedinglines without the need for multiple generations of selfing andselection. In this manner true breeding lines can be produced in aslittle as one generation. Haploid embryos may be produced frommicrospores, pollen, anther cultures, or ovary cultures. The haploidembryos may then be doubled autonomously, or by chemical treatments(e.g. colchicine treatment). Alternatively, haploid embryos may be growninto haploid plants and treated to induce chromosome doubling. In eithercase, fertile homozygous plants are obtained. In accordance with theinvention, any of such techniques may be used in connection with hybrid9930417 and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179, and progenythereof to achieve a homozygous line.

Backcrossing can also be used to improve an inbred plant. Backcrossingtransfers a specific desirable trait from one inbred or non-inbredsource to an inbred that lacks that trait. This can be accomplished, forexample, by first crossing a superior inbred (A) (recurrent parent) to adonor inbred (non-recurrent parent), which carries the appropriate locusor loci for the trait in question. The progeny of this cross are thenmated back to the superior recurrent parent (A) followed by selection inthe resultant progeny for the desired trait to be transferred from thenon-recurrent parent. After five or more backcross generations withselection for the desired trait, the progeny have the characteristicbeing transferred, but are like the superior parent for most or almostall other loci. The last backcross generation would be selfed to givepure breeding progeny for the trait being transferred.

The plants of the present invention are particularly well suited for thedevelopment of new lines based on the elite nature of the geneticbackground of these plants. In selecting a second plant to cross with9930417 and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179 for the purpose ofdeveloping novel pepper lines, it will typically be preferred to choosethose plants which either themselves exhibit one or more selecteddesirable characteristics or which exhibit the desired characteristic(s)when in hybrid combination. Examples of desirable traits of sweetpeppers include: high seed yield, high seed germination, seedling vigor,early fruit maturity, high fruit yield, ease of fruit setting, diseasetolerance or resistance, and adaptability for soil and climateconditions. Consumer-driven traits, such as a preference for a givenfruit size, shape, color, texture, and taste, especially non-pungency(low capsaicinoid content), are other traits that may be incorporatedinto new lines of sweet pepper plants developed by this invention.

Particularly desirable traits that may be incorporated by this inventionis improved resistance to different viral, fungal, and bacterialpathogens. Anthracnose and Phytophthora blight are fungal diseasesaffecting various species of pepper. Fruit lesions and fruit rot are thecommercially important aspects of these diseases. Bacterial leaf spotand bacterial wilt are other diseases affecting pepper plants,especially during the wet season. Viral pathogens affecting pepperplants include the pepper mosaic virus and the tobacco mosaic virus.

Various genes and conferring insect resistance are also known in the artand could be introduced into a pepper plant in accordance with theinvention. Insect pests affecting the various species of pepper includethe European corn borer, corn earworm, aphids, flea beetles, whiteflies,and mites (Midwest Vegetable Production Guide for Commercial Growers,2003).

D. Performance Characteristics

As described above, hybrid 9930417 exhibits desirable agronomic traits,including a sturdy, medium-sized, anthocyaninless plant, with excellentcover; a plant that produces a heavy set of fruit that are uniform,smooth and of similar size, and which mature from green to red, andoften weigh between 200 and 250 grams; and a plant that appearsresistant or tolerant to races 1, 2 and 3 of Bacterial Leaf Spot(Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria), Tobamovirus (P0) andPhytopthora capsici. These and other performance characteristics of thehybrid were the subject of an objective analysis of the performancetraits relative to other varieties. The results of the analysis arepresented below.

TABLE 4 Performance Characteristics For Hybrid 9930417 Race 1-3 BLSFruit color Fruit size Fruit resistance PVY(P0) Antho- at green width(cm) × weight Variety Source (Bs2 gene) resistance cyaninless harvestlength (cm) (g.) 9930417 (Prophet) Seminis yes no yes Light 8 × 9 225medium Baron Seminis no no yes medium 9 × 9 220 Excalibur Seminis no nono dark  9 × 10 240 Wizard X3R Seminis yes yes no dark 10 × 10 260Aristotle Seminis yes yes yes medium 10 × 11 280 Crusader Syngenta yesyes no dark 10 × 10 260 Affinity Syngenta no no no medium  9 × 10 250Jupiter Syngenta no no no medium 9 × 9 200

As shown above, hybrid 9930417 combines resistance to Bacterial LeafSpot Races 1 to 3, anthocyaninless growth, light medium fruit color, andmore a desirable fruit size and weight when compared to competingvarieties. One important aspect of the invention thus provides seed ofthe variety for commercial use.

E. Further Embodiments of the Invention

In one embodiment of the invention, plants are provided of pepper hybrid9930417 and/or pepper lines SBR99-1243 and SBY99-1179 modified toinclude at least a first desired heritable trait. Such plants may, inparticular embodiments, be developed by a plant breeding techniquecalled backcrossing, wherein essentially all of the desiredmorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to a genetic locus transferred into the plant viathe backcrossing technique. The term single locus converted plant asused herein refers to those pepper plants which are developed by a plantbreeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of thedesired morphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to the single locus transferred into the varietyvia the backcrossing technique.

Backcrossing methods can be used with the present invention to improveor introduce a characteristic into the present variety. The parentalpepper plant which contributes the locus for the desired characteristicis termed the nonrecurrent or donor parent. This terminology refers tothe fact that the nonrecurrent parent is used one time in the backcrossprotocol and therefore does not recur. The parental pepper plant towhich the locus or loci from the nonrecurrent parent are transferred isknown as the recurrent parent as it is used for several rounds in thebackcrossing protocol.

In a typical backcross protocol, the original variety of interest(recurrent parent) is crossed to a second variety (nonrecurrent parent)that carries the single locus of interest to be transferred. Theresulting progeny from this cross are then crossed again to therecurrent parent and the process is repeated until a pepper plant isobtained wherein essentially all of the desired morphological andphysiological characteristics of the recurrent parent are recovered inthe converted plant, in addition to the single transferred locus fromthe nonrecurrent parent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for asuccessful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol isto alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the originalvariety. To accomplish this, a single locus of the recurrent variety ismodified or substituted with the desired locus from the nonrecurrentparent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desiredgenetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphologicalconstitution of the original variety. The choice of the particularnonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross; one ofthe major purposes is to add some commercially desirable trait to theplant. The exact backcrossing protocol will depend on the characteristicor trait being altered and the genetic distance between the recurrentand nonrecurrent parents. Although backcrossing methods are simplifiedwhen the characteristic being transferred is a dominant allele, arecessive allele, or an additive allele (between recessive anddominant), may also be transferred. In this instance it may be necessaryto introduce a test of the progeny to determine if the desiredcharacteristic has been successfully transferred.

In one embodiment, progeny pepper plants of a backcross in which 9930417is the recurrent parent comprise (i) the desired trait from thenon-recurrent parent and (ii) all of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of pepper hybrid 9930417 as determined at the 5%significance level when grown in the same environmental conditions.

Pepper varieties can also be developed from more than two parents. Thetechnique, known as modified backcrossing, uses different recurrentparents during the backcrossing. Modified backcrossing may be used toreplace the original recurrent parent with a variety having certain moredesirable characteristics or multiple parents may be used to obtaindifferent desirable characteristics from each.

Many single locus traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new inbred but that can be improvedby backcrossing techniques. Single locus traits may or may not betransgenic; examples of these traits include, but are not limited to,male sterility, herbicide resistance, resistance to bacterial, fungal,or viral disease, insect resistance, restoration of male fertility,modified fatty acid or carbohydrate metabolism, and enhanced nutritionalquality. These comprise genes generally inherited through the nucleus.

Direct selection may be applied where the single locus acts as adominant trait. An example of a dominant trait is a gene conferringresistance to cucumber mosaic virus (WO 2001/084912). For this selectionprocess, the progeny of the initial cross are assayed for viralresistance and/or the presence of the corresponding gene prior to thebackcrossing. Selection eliminates any plants that do not have thedesired gene and resistance trait, and only those plants that have thetrait are used in the subsequent backcross. This process is thenrepeated for all additional backcross generations.

Selection of pepper plants for breeding is not necessarily dependent onthe phenotype of a plant and instead can be based on geneticinvestigations. For example, one can utilize a suitable genetic markerwhich is closely genetically linked to a trait of interest. One of thesemarkers can be used to identify the presence or absence of a trait inthe offspring of a particular cross, and can be used in selection ofprogeny for continued breeding. This technique is commonly referred toas marker assisted selection. Any other type of genetic marker or otherassay which is able to identify the relative presence or absence of atrait of interest in a plant can also be useful for breeding purposes.Procedures for marker assisted selection applicable to the breeding ofpepper are well known in the art. Such methods will be of particularutility in the case of recessive traits and variable phenotypes, orwhere conventional assays may be more expensive, time consuming orotherwise disadvantageous. Types of genetic markers which could be usedin accordance with the invention include, but are not necessarilylimited to, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms (SSLPs) (Williams etal., 1990), Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNAAmplification Fingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized AmplifiedRegions (SCARs), Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR),Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858,specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), andSingle Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., 1998).

F. Plants Derived by Genetic Engineering

Many useful traits that can be introduced by backcrossing, as well asdirectly into a plant, are those which are introduced by genetictransformation techniques. Genetic transformation may therefore be usedto insert a selected transgene into a pepper plant of the invention ormay, alternatively, be used for the preparation of transgenes which canbe introduced by backcrossing. Methods for the transformation of plants,including pepper plants, are well known to those of skill in the art(see, e.g., Schroeder et al., 1993). Techniques which may be employedfor the genetic transformation of pepper plants include, but are notlimited to, electroporation, microprojectile bombardment,Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and direct DNA uptake byprotoplasts.

To effect transformation by electroporation, one may employ eitherfriable tissues, such as a suspension culture of cells or embryogeniccallus or alternatively one may transform immature embryos or otherorganized tissue directly. In this technique, one would partiallydegrade the cell walls of the chosen cells by exposing them topectin-degrading enzymes (pectolyases) or mechanically wound tissues ina controlled manner.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of pepper explant material andregeneration of whole transformed pepper plants (including tetraploids)from the transformed shoots has been shown to be an efficienttransformation method (U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,316).

A particularly efficient method for delivering transforming DNA segmentsto plant cells is microprojectile bombardment. In this method, particlesare coated with nucleic acids and delivered into cells by a propellingforce. Exemplary particles include those comprised of tungsten,platinum, and preferably, gold. For the bombardment, cells in suspensionare concentrated on filters or solid culture medium. Alternatively,immature embryos or other target cells may be arranged on solid culturemedium. The cells to be bombarded are positioned at an appropriatedistance below the macroprojectile stopping plate.

An illustrative embodiment of a method for delivering DNA into plantcells by acceleration is the Biolistics Particle Delivery System, whichcan be used to propel particles coated with DNA or cells through ascreen, such as a stainless steel or Nytex screen, onto a surfacecovered with target pepper cells. The screen disperses the particles sothat they are not delivered to the recipient cells in large aggregates.It is believed that a screen intervening between the projectileapparatus and the cells to be bombarded reduces the size of projectilesaggregate and may contribute to a higher frequency of transformation byreducing the damage inflicted on the recipient cells by projectiles thatare too large.

Microprojectile bombardment techniques are widely applicable, and may beused to transform virtually any plant species.

Agrobacterium-mediated transfer is another widely applicable system forintroducing gene loci into plant cells. An advantage of the technique isthat DNA can be introduced into whole plant tissues, thereby bypassingthe need for regeneration of an intact plant from a protoplast. ModernAgrobacterium transformation vectors are capable of replication in E.coli as well as Agrobacterium, allowing for convenient manipulations(Klee et al., 1985). Moreover, recent technological advances in vectorsfor Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer have improved the arrangementof genes and restriction sites in the vectors to facilitate theconstruction of vectors capable of expressing various polypeptide codinggenes. The vectors described have convenient multi-linker regionsflanked by a promoter and a polyadenylation site for direct expressionof inserted polypeptide coding genes. Additionally, Agrobacteriumcontaining both armed and disarmed Ti genes can be used fortransformation.

In those plant strains where Agrobacterium-mediated transformation isefficient, it is the method of choice because of the facile and definednature of the gene locus transfer. The use of Agrobacterium-mediatedplant integrating vectors to introduce DNA into plant cells is wellknown in the art (Fraley et al., 1985; U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,055).

Transformation of plant protoplasts also can be achieved using methodsbased on calcium phosphate precipitation, polyethylene glycol treatment,electroporation, and combinations of these treatments (see, e.g.,Potrykus et al., 1985; Omirulleh et al., 1993; Fromm et al., 1986;Uchimiya et al., 1986; Marcotte et al., 1988). Transformation of plantsand expression of foreign genetic elements is exemplified in Choi et al.(1994), and Ellul et al. (2003).

A number of promoters have utility for plant gene expression for anygene of interest including but not limited to selectable markers,scoreable markers, genes for pest tolerance, disease resistance,nutritional enhancements and any other gene of agronomic interest.Examples of constitutive promoters useful for pepper plant geneexpression include, but are not limited to, the cauliflower mosaic virus(CaMV) P-35S promoter, which confers constitutive, high-level expressionin most plant tissues (see, e.g., Odel et al., 1985), including monocots(see, e.g., Dekeyser et al., 1990; Terada and Shimamoto, 1990); atandemly duplicated version of the CaMV 35S promoter, the enhanced 35Spromoter (P-e35S) the nopaline synthase promoter (An et al., 1988), theoctopine synthase promoter (Fromm et al., 1989); and the figwort mosaicvirus (P-FMV) promoter as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,619 and anenhanced version of the FMV promoter (P-eFMV) where the promotersequence of P-FMV is duplicated in tandem, the cauliflower mosaic virus19S promoter, a sugarcane bacilliform virus promoter, a commelina yellowmottle virus promoter, and other plant DNA virus promoters known toexpress in plant cells.

A variety of plant gene promoters that are regulated in response toenvironmental, hormonal, chemical, and/or developmental signals can beused for expression of an operably linked gene in plant cells, includingpromoters regulated by (1) heat (Callis et al., 1988), (2) light (e.g.,pea rbcS-3A promoter, Kuhlemeier et al., 1989; maize rbcS promoter,Schaffner and Sheen, 1991; or chlorophyll a/b-binding protein promoter,Simpson et al., 1985), (3) hormones, such as abscisic acid (Marcotte etal., 1989), (4) wounding (e.g., wunl, Siebertz et al., 1989); or (5)chemicals such as methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, or Safener. It mayalso be advantageous to employ organ-specific promoters (e.g., Roshal etal., 1987; Schernthaner et al., 1988; Bustos et al., 1989).

Exemplary nucleic acids which may be introduced to the pepper plants ofthis invention include, for example, DNA sequences or genes from anotherspecies, or even genes or sequences which originate with or are presentin the same species, but are incorporated into recipient cells bygenetic engineering methods rather than classical reproduction orbreeding techniques. However, the term “exogenous” is also intended torefer to genes that are not normally present in the cell beingtransformed, or perhaps simply not present in the form, structure, etc.,as found in the transforming DNA segment or gene, or genes which arenormally present and that one desires to express in a manner thatdiffers from the natural expression pattern, e.g., to over-express.Thus, the term “exogenous” gene or DNA is intended to refer to any geneor DNA segment that is introduced into a recipient cell, regardless ofwhether a similar gene may already be present in such a cell. The typeof DNA included in the exogenous DNA can include DNA which is alreadypresent in the plant cell, DNA from another plant, DNA from a differentorganism, or a DNA generated externally, such as a DNA sequencecontaining an antisense message of a gene, or a DNA sequence encoding asynthetic or modified version of a gene.

Many hundreds if not thousands of different genes are known and couldpotentially be introduced into a pepper plant according to theinvention. Non-limiting examples of particular genes and correspondingphenotypes one may choose to introduce into a pepper plant include oneor more genes for insect tolerance, such as a Bacillus thuringiensis(B.t.) gene, pest tolerance such as genes for fungal disease control,herbicide tolerance such as genes conferring glyphosate tolerance, andgenes for quality improvements such as yield, nutritional enhancements,environmental or stress tolerances, or any desirable changes in plantphysiology, growth, development, morphology or plant product(s). Forexample, structural genes would include any gene that confers insecttolerance including but not limited to a Bacillus insect control proteingene as described in WO 99/31248, herein incorporated by reference inits entirety, U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,052, herein incorporated by referencein its entirety, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,500,365 and 5,880,275, hereinincorporated by reference it their entirety. In another embodiment, thestructural gene can confer tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate asconferred by genes including, but not limited to Agrobacterium strainCP4 glyphosate resistant EPSPS gene (aroA:CP4) as described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,633,435, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, orglyphosate oxidoreductase gene (GOX) as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,463,175, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Alternatively, the DNA coding sequences can affect these phenotypes byencoding a non-translatable RNA molecule that causes the targetedinhibition of expression of an endogenous gene, for example viaantisense- or cosuppression-mediated mechanisms (see, for example, Birdet al., 1991). The RNA could also be a catalytic RNA molecule (i.e., aribozyme) engineered to cleave a desired endogenous mRNA product (seefor example, Gibson and Shillito, 1997). Thus, any gene which produces aprotein or mRNA which expresses a phenotype or morphology change ofinterest is useful for the practice of the present invention.

G. Definitions

In the description and tables herein, a number of terms are used. Inorder to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, the following definitions are provided:

Allele: Any of one or more alternative forms of a gene locus, all ofwhich alleles relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cellor organism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding locion a pair of homologous chromosomes.

Backcrossing: A process in which a breeder repeatedly crosses hybridprogeny, for example a first generation hybrid (F₁), back to one of theparents of the hybrid progeny. Backcrossing can be used to introduce oneor more single locus conversions from one genetic background intoanother.

Crossing: The mating of two parent plants.

Cross-pollination: Fertilization by the union of two gametes fromdifferent plants.

Diploid: A cell or organism having two sets of chromosomes.

Emasculate: The removal of plant male sex organs or the inactivation ofthe organs with a cytoplasmic or nuclear genetic factor or a chemicalagent conferring male sterility.

Enzymes: Molecules which can act as catalysts in biological reactions.

F₁ Hybrid: The first generation progeny of the cross of two nonisogenicplants.

Genotype: The genetic constitution of a cell or organism.

Haploid: A cell or organism having one set of the two sets ofchromosomes in a diploid.

Linkage: A phenomenon wherein alleles on the same chromosome tend tosegregate together more often than expected by chance if theirtransmission was independent.

Marker: A readily detectable phenotype, preferably inherited incodominant fashion (both alleles at a locus in a diploid heterozygoteare readily detectable), with no environmental variance component, i.e.,heritability of 1.

Phenotype: The detectable characteristics of a cell or organism, whichcharacteristics are the manifestation of gene expression.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL): Quantitative trait loci (QTL) refer togenetic loci that control to some degree numerically representabletraits that are usually continuously distributed.

Resistance: As used herein, the terms “resistance” and “tolerance” areused interchangeably to describe plants that show no symptoms to aspecified biotic pest, pathogen, abiotic influence or environmentalcondition. These terms are also used to describe plants showing somesymptoms but that are still able to produce marketable product with anacceptable yield. Some plants that are referred to as resistant ortolerant are only so in the sense that they may still produce a crop,even though the plants are stunted and the yield is reduced.

Regeneration: The development of a plant from tissue culture.

Self-pollination: The transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigmaof the same plant.

Single Locus Converted (Conversion) Plant: Plants which are developed bya plant breeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially allof the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of apepper variety/line are recovered in addition to the characteristics ofthe single locus transferred in via the backcrossing technique and/or bygenetic transformation.

Substantially Equivalent: A characteristic that, when compared, does notshow a statistically significant difference (e.g., p=0.05) from themean.

Tissue Culture: A composition comprising isolated cells of the same or adifferent type or a collection of such cells organized into parts of aplant.

Transgene: A genetic locus comprising a sequence which has beenintroduced into the genome of a pepper plant by transformation.

H. Deposit Information

A deposit of pepper hybrid 9930417 and inbred parent line SBR99-1243,disclosed above and recited in the claims, has been made with theAmerican Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 10801 University Blvd.,Manassas, Va. 20110-2209. The deposits were made on May 30, 2008. Theaccession numbers for those deposited seeds of pepper hybrid 9930417 andinbred parent line SBR99-1243 are ATCC Accession Number PTA-9223 andATCC Accession Number PTA-9227, respectively. Upon issuance of a patent,all restrictions upon the deposits will be removed, and the deposits areintended to meet all of the requirements of 37 C.F.R. §1.801-1.809. Thedeposits will be maintained in the depository for a period of 30 years,or 5 years after the last request, or for the effective life of thepatent, whichever is longer, and will be replaced if necessary duringthat period.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail byway of illustration and example for purposes of clarity andunderstanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modificationsmay be practiced within the scope of the invention, as limited only bythe scope of the appended claims.

All references cited herein are hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference.

REFERENCES

The following references, to the extent that they provide exemplaryprocedural or other details supplementary to those set forth herein, arespecifically incorporated herein by reference:

-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,316-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,619-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,175-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,365-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,055-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,435-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,052-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,275-   U.S. Pat. No. 7,087,819-   An et al., Plant Physiol., 88:547, 1988.-   Berke, J. New Seeds, 1:3-4, 1999.-   Bird et al., Biotech. Gen. Engin. Rev., 9:207, 1991.-   Bustos et al., Plant Cell, 1:839, 1989.-   Callis et al., Plant Physiol., 88:965, 1988.-   Chae et al., Capsicum Eggplant Newsltr., 22:121-124, 2003.-   Choi et al., Plant Cell Rep., 13: 344-348, 1994.-   Dekeyser et al., Plant Cell, 2:591, 1990.-   Ellul et al., Theor. Appl. Genet., 107:462-469, 2003.-   EP 534 858-   Fraley et al., Bio/Technology, 3:629-635, 1985.-   Fromm et al., Nature, 312:791-793, 1986.-   Fromm et al., Plant Cell, 1:977, 1989.-   Gibson and Shillito, Mol. Biotech., 7:125, 1997-   Klee et al., Bio-Technology, 3(7):637-642, 1985.-   Kuhlemeier et al., Plant Cell, 1:471, 1989.-   Marcotte et al., Nature, 335:454, 1988.-   Marcotte et al., Plant Cell, 1:969, 1989.-   Midwest Veg. Prod. Guide for Commercial Growers (ID:56), 2003-   Odel et al., Nature, 313:810, 1985.-   Omirulleh et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 21(3):415-428, 1993.-   Pandal et al., Theor. Appl. Gene., 68(6):567-577, 1984.-   Pickersgill and Barbara, Euphytica, 96(1):129-133, 1997-   Potrykus et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 199:183-188, 1985.-   Roshal et al., EMBO J., 6:1155, 1987.-   Schaffner and Sheen, Plant Cell, 3:997, 1991.-   Schernthaner et al., EMBO J., 7:1249, 1988.-   Siebertz et al., Plant Cell, 1:961, 1989.-   Simpson et al., EMBO J., 4:2723, 1985.-   Terada and Shimamoto, Mol. Gen. Genet., 220:389, 1990.-   Uchimiya et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 204:204, 1986.-   Wang et al., Science, 280:1077-1082, 1998.-   Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 1 8:6531-6535, 1990.-   WO 99/31248-   WO 01/084912

1. A pepper plant comprising at least a first set of the chromosomes ofpepper line SBR99-1243, a sample of seed of said line having beendeposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-9227.
 2. A seed comprising atleast a first set of the chromosomes of pepper line SBR99-1243, a sampleof seed of said line having been deposited under ATCC Accession NumberPTA-9227.
 3. The plant of claim 1, which is inbred.
 4. The plant ofclaim 1, which is hybrid.
 5. The plant of claim 4, wherein the hybridplant is a plant of pepper hybrid 9930417, a sample of seed of saidhybrid 9930417 having been deposited under ATCC Accession NumberPTA-9223.
 6. The plant of claim 3, wherein the inbred plant is lineSBY99-1179.
 7. A plant part of the plant of claim
 1. 8. The plant partof claim 7, further defined as a leaf, a ovule, pollen, a fruit, or acell.
 9. A pepper plant, or a part thereof, having all the physiologicaland morphological characteristics of the pepper plant of claim
 5. 10. Apepper plant, or a part thereof, having all the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the pepper plant of claim
 6. 11. Atissue culture of regenerable cells of the plant of claim
 1. 12. Thetissue culture according to claim 11, comprising cells or protoplastsfrom a plant part selected from the group consisting of embryos,meristems, cotyledons, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips,pistil, flower, seed and stalks.
 13. A pepper plant regenerated from thetissue culture of claim
 12. 14. A method of vegetatively propagating theplant of claim 1 comprising the steps of: (a) collecting tissue capableof being propagated from a plant according to claim 1; (b) cultivatingsaid tissue to obtain proliferated shoots; and (c) rooting saidproliferated shoots to obtain rooted plantlets.
 15. The method of claim14, further comprising growing plants from said rooted plantlets.
 16. Amethod of introducing a desired trait into a pepper line comprising: (a)crossing a plant of line SBR99-1243, a sample of seed of said linehaving been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-9227, with asecond pepper plant that comprises a desired trait to produce F1progeny; (b) selecting an F1 progeny that comprises the desired trait;(c) crossing the selected F1 progeny with a plant of line SBR99-1243 toproduce backcross progeny; (d) selecting backcross progeny comprisingthe desired trait and the physiological and morphological characteristicof pepper line SBR99-1243; and (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) three ormore times in succession to produce selected fourth or higher backcrossprogeny that comprise the desired trait.
 17. A pepper plant produced bythe method of claim
 16. 18. A method of producing a plant comprising anadded desired trait, the method comprising introducing a transgeneconferring the desired trait into a plant of pepper hybrid 9930417 orline SBR99-1243; a sample of seed of said hybrid and line having beendeposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-9223 and ATCC Accession NumberPTA-9227, respectively.
 19. A method for producing a seed of a pepperplant derived from hybrid 9930417 or line SBR99-1243 comprising thesteps of: (a) crossing a pepper plant of pepper hybrid 9930417 or lineSBR99-1243 with a second pepper plant; a sample of seed of said hybridand line having been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-9223 andATCC Accession Number PTA-9227, respectively; and (b) allowing seed of ahybrid 9930417 or line SBR99-1243-derived pepper plant to form.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, further comprising the steps of: (c) crossing aplant grown from said hybrid 9930417 or line SBR99-1243-derived pepperseed with itself or a second pepper plant to yield additional hybrid9930417 or line SBR99-1243-derived pepper seed; (d) growing saidadditional hybrid 9930417 or line SBR99-1243-derived pepper seed of step(c) to yield additional hybrid 9930417 or line SBR99-1243-derived pepperplants; and (e) repeating the crossing and growing steps of (c) and (d)to generate further hybrid 9930417 or line SBR99-1243-derived pepperplants.
 21. The method of claim 19, wherein the second pepper plant isof an inbred pepper line.
 22. The seed of claim 2, defined as seed ofpepper hybrid 9930417, a sample of seed of said hybrid 9930417 havingbeen deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-9223.
 23. A plantproduced by growing the seed of claim
 22. 24. A plant part of the plantof claim
 23. 25. The plant part of claim 24, further defined as a leaf,a flower, a fruit, an ovule, pollen, or a cell.
 26. A tissue culture ofcells of the plant of claim
 1. 27. The tissue culture of claim 26,wherein cells of the tissue culture are from a tissue selected from thegroup consisting of embryos, meristems, cotyledons, pollen, leaves,anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, flower, seed and stalks.
 28. A pepperplant regenerated from the tissue culture of claim 26, wherein theregenerated plant expresses all of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of hybrid pepper hybrid 9930417, a sample of seed ofsaid hybrid 9930417 having been deposited under ATCC Accession NumberPTA-9223.
 29. The seed of claim 2, wherein the seed further comprises atransgene.
 30. A method of producing a pepper fruit comprising: (a)obtaining a pepper plant according to claim 1, wherein the pepper planthas been cultivated to maturity; and (b) collecting a pepper from theplant.
 31. The method of claim 30, wherein said pepper plant is a plantof pepper hybrid 9930417, a sample of seed of said hybrid 9930417 havingbeen deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-9223.